ExxonMobil has announced plans to become a leading supplier of lithium for electric vehicle (EV) batteries by the end of the decade. Dubbed “white gold” for its increasing value and silver-white color, the oil company’s investment in this critical mineral comes as demand for it is expected to grow exponentially, nearly doubling over the next five years according to some estimates.
“Everyone’s focused on lithium, it’s white gold is the next rush,” said Keith Phillips, CEO of Piedmont Lithium. “I think we’re in a transitional environment right now where lithium demand will exceed supply most of the time for the next decade or so.”
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Earlier this year, ExxonMobil acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres of land in southern Arkansas’s Smackover formation. The region is considered “one of the most prolific lithium resources of its type in North America.” In total, about 4 million tons of this highly valued metal are estimated to be the area, enough to power about 50 million EVs.
“Arkansas sits on one of the world’s largest lithium resources,” said Robert Mintak, CEO of Standard Lithium. “There’s no better place to build a lithium business than south Arkansas.”
ExxonMobil plans to begin producing battery grade versions of the metal from this site by 2027. Ultimately, its aim is to supply enough lithium to support the production of more than 1 million electric vehicles annually by 2030. Currently, less than one percent of lithium is produced in the United States, leaving American automakers in need of an increased domestic supply of the mineral.
“Lithium is essential to the energy transition, and ExxonMobil has a leading role to play in paving the way for electrification,” said Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. “This landmark project applies decades of ExxonMobil expertise to unlock vast supplies of North American lithium.”
While ExxonMobil moves forward with their plans to become a major lithium supplier, other Big Oil players are also making investments in electric vehicles, from chargers to battery technology and car manufacturing. Chevron has explored funding lithium mining efforts, CEO Mike Wirth confirmed to Axios.
“If battery electric vehicles do prove to be the major means of light passenger vehicle transportation moving forward, the core business model for the oil majors of providing gasoline to these vehicles is going to struggle,” said Graham Evans, director of auto supply chain and technology at S&P Global Mobility. “It’s not necessarily just hedging their bets, but perhaps starting to add some meat on the bone of the narrative around decarbonizing what they do, and meeting some kind of net-zero target for the future, as difficult as that will be to achieve.”
BP announced last month it would purchase $100 million worth of Tesla superchargers and is gearing up to spend $1 billion on charging infrastructure by 2030. BP has already installed over 20,000 EV charge points worldwide, with a goal of rolling out more than 100,000 over the next six years.
Shell is also creating its own network of EV charging stations, currently operating 140,000 worldwide. In March, the company purchased charging provider Volta for $169 million. Shell plans to operate over 500,000 charge points around the world by 2025 and upwards of 2.5 million by 2030.
Meanwhile, oil refining giant Koch Industries put at least $750 million towards EVs and the U.S. battery supply chain in 2022. That spending made them one of the biggest investors in the sector outside of automakers at the time, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A projected surge in the demand for EVs has prompted this shift in strategy from Big Oil companies. With some analysts protecting that electric vehicles could surpass as much as two thirds of global car sales by 2030, the oil industry is looking at ways to be a part of the anticipated widespread adoption of these vehicles in the coming years.
Tags: Arkansas, Chevron, Electric Vehicle Batteries, Electric vehicles, Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, lithium
Jack Aylmer
THE DEMAND FOR LITHIUM IS GROWING. EXPECTED TO NEARLY DOUBLE WORLDWIDE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
Keith Phillips, CEO Piedmont Lithium
‘It’s white gold, it’s the next rush.’ Everyone’s focused on lithium, it’s white gold is the next rush.”-
Jack Aylmer
THE CRITICAL MINERAL IS CRUCIAL PART OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY PRODUCTION. AND NOW – ONE OIL GIANT IS MAKING A PLAY TO BE ONE OF THE INDUSTRY’S TOP SUPPLIERS.
EXXON MOBIL ANNOUNCED PLANS THIS WEEK TO MEET THE NEED FOR LITHIUM BY THE END OF THE DECADE – ACQUIRING THE RIGHTS TO 120-THOUSAND ACRES OF LAND IN SOUTHERN ARKANSAS.
THAT’S HOME TO THE SMACKOVER FORMATION – A REGION CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST PROLIFIC LITHIUM DEPOSIT IN ALL OF NORTH AMERICA.
Robert Mintak, Standard Lithium – CEO
Arkansas sits on one of the world’s largest lithium resources … There’s no better place to build a lithium business than south Arkansas.
Jack Aylmer
EXXON MOBILE PLANS TO START DIGGING SOON – AND WILL PRODUCE BATTERY GRADE VERSIONS OF THE METAL BY 20-27.
Dan Ammann, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions
We’re betting on the big trend of electrification, you know, through the growth of this lithium business here today.”
Jack Aylmer
THE COMPANY IS THE LATEST NAME IN BIG OIL TO INVEST IN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF E-Vs. CHEVRON, B-P, AND SHELL ARE ALL GETTING INTO THE GAME.
LIKE EXXON, CHEVRON IS EXPLORING PUTTING FUNDS TOWARD LITHIUM MINING EFFORTS. THE COMPANY’S CEO CONFIRMING TO AXIOS THEY ARE CONSIDERING THEIR OPTIONS IN THIS ARENA.
BP ANNOUNCED LAST MONTH IT WOULD PURCHASE ONE-HUNDRED-MILLION-DOLLARS WORTH OF TESLA SUPERCHARGERS, AND IS GEARING UP TO SPEND ONE-BILLION-DOLLARS ON CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE BY 20-30.
AND SHELL IS CREATING ITS OWN NETWORK OF EV CHARGING STATIONS, CURRENTLY OPERATING ONE-HUNDRED-AND-FORTY-THOUSAND WORLDWIDE.
SHELL PLANS TO INCREASE THAT TOTAL TO UPWARDS OF TWO-AND-A-HALF-MILLION BY 20-30.
MEANWHILE, OIL REFINING GIANT KOCH INDUSTRIES IS INVESTING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN THE U-S BATTERY SUPPLY CHAIN. MAKING THEM ONE OF THE BIGGEST INVESTORS IN THE SECTOR OUTSIDE OF AUTOMAKERS.
RETURNING TO EXXON MOBILE, THE COMPANY SAYS THEIR MOVE INTO LITHIUM WILL HELP SUPPORT THE PRODUCTION
OF MORE THAN 1-MILLION ELECTRIC VEHICLES ANNUALLY BY 20-30.
ARKANSAS GOVERNOR SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS VOICED SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT, ADDING THAT HER ADMINISTRATION WILL CONTINUE TO CUT TAXES AND SLASH RED TAPE TO MAKE ENDEAVORS LIKE THIS POSSIBLE.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Governor
“I’m not being dramatic when I say this has the potential to transform our state … some estimate that the natural state could produce 15% of the world’s finished lithium supply. That is huge for Arkansas and for America.”-
Jack Aylmer
CURRENTLY, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF LITHIUM IS PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES, LEAVING AMERICAN AUTOMAKERS IN NEED OF AN INCREASED DOMESTIC SUPPLY OF THE MINERAL.
-Jim Holder, Autocar Editorial Director
“You can see with the most popular electric cars that one of the things holding up the production of them is the rate of which the batteries can be produced. So there is definitely pressure on the battery makers to respond.”
Jack Aylmer
THAT’S THE NEED EXXON MOBIL IS HOPING TO FILL, AS THE ARKANSAS LAND THEY WILL MINE IS ESTIMATED TO HOLD ENOUGH LITHIUM TO POWER ABOUT FIFTY MILLION ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
–Dan Ammann, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions
“We’re going to be ramping up domestic production of lithium, which is a critical mineral for the energy transition that’s currently being imported from elsewhere in the world.”
Jack Aylmer
AND WITH EVS EXPECTED TO SURPASS TWO THIRDS OF GLOBAL CAR SALES BY 20-30, THE OIL INDUSTRY IS LOOKING AT WAYS TO BE A PART OF THE ANTICIPATED WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF THESE VEHICLES IN THE COMING YEARS.
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